Pilkhana massacre and shadows of extremism
RESPONSIBLE figures in the establishment have spoken about the suspected complicity of terror outfits and their mentors in the gruesome murders of military officers on 25th February last at the border guard headquarters. While the full facts establishing the culpability of the murderers may take some time, it appears prima facie from the severity of the vengeful killings that trained and motivated killer cells had played a major part in the macabre transactions.
The question is how suspected criminal and subversive elements could manage to get recruited in the border guard establishment without concerned agencies having any information about such alleged infiltration? Could the denial mode of the establishment in the not-too-distant past about the existence of politically motivated religious extremists have helped and facilitated the growth and nurturing of deadly obscurantist elements in security outfits? Are state agencies reluctant and ambivalent in frontally countering the bigots despite ominous portents?
Under the circumstances, we may have to ask ourselves if a perception had developed among the terrorist groups that the Bangladeshi state is inherently incapable of meeting their challenge and that it has become soft and indolent. We may have to ascertain if quite a few parties have developed a vested interest in a soft state, a weak government and ineffective implementation of the laws. Simultaneously, are foreign funds flowing substantially to various organizations and groups which serve, willingly or unwillingly, the long term objective of some political parties suspected to be aligned or sympathetic to the regional or international terror network?
Readers may recollect that in the not-too-distant past Bangladeshi polity was in a near euphoric state following the execution of six dreaded so-called religious extremists. At that time it was necessary to ensure that the sense of pragmatism does not take leave of us and we do not revert back to the establishment chosen complacency. We should have been aware of the fact that confronting the extremism of the bigots is an awesome task and that sustained efforts are necessary to tackle the menace root and branch.
The sensational disclosures reportedly made by the then terror supremos and other religious extremists in course of interrogation by the intelligence agencies must have surprised both the non-believers and the naive in our society where until recently not much note was taken of their activities. The fact that there was a temporary discontinuance of the deadly doings of such elements could not have been a comforting scenario because their unhealthy growth and harmful rise in our body-politic too was not known to the general public. Therefore, the concerned citizens may only keep guessing as to the nature and dimension of the diabolical mischief of the bigots in the days to come.
What may or may not be done to countervail the malevolence of the extremists concerns every right-thinking Bangladeshi but equally, if not more significant, is what kept the state machinery in a deep slumber while the bigots carried on virtually undisturbed. There is a creeping suspicion that there never was a dispassionate appreciation of the real threat scenario. In other words, was there no effort to pinpoint the threats posed to our democratic polity and by extension to our independent national existence? These questions should bother us because patriotic citizens of the People's Republic of Bangladesh must know that.
There is a feeling that like the responses to other socio-economic issues of our national life, we have been disappointingly reactive in responding to the threats of national security. The whole approach appears to be ad-hoc and on a case to case basis. Somehow, the establishment has wished to assure itself by imagining that a hydra-headed monster has surfaced all on a sudden and will wither soon to the relief of a concerned population.
The reasonable suspicion is that while the establishment, the civil society and other activists have remained indifferent about the programs and designs of the obscurantist elements, the so-called religious extremists have grown in strength and spread their tentacles taking advantage of the ignorance and inertia.
The constitutional position as against the programme of the extremists leaves no room for any ambiguity. While at the macro-level it may be a matter of political direction to sort out disagreements through dialogue and persuasion, the field-level operatives, both in uniform and plainclothes must have clear directives and plan of action for preventing violent subversive actions. This is all the more significant now because the new enemy has an emotional and religiously sensitive alignment with the common folks of the country. One must not be oblivious of the fact that the enemy combatants are entrenched in places and institutions that are traditionally respected and revered in our society.
One has to bear in mind that the terrorists are so motivated that even one of them retains the ability to strike with a deadly impact. Any one individual of such outfit may turn into another Banglabhai. Therefore, the threat and fear of terrorist strike will not disappear if the terror-tree is not completely uprooted. In such an exercise we need long-term planning, diversified strategy and continuous actions. Unfortunately, however, some quarters are underplaying the power and capability of the terrorists.
Most terrorist activities are encouraged and sustained by an ideological inspiration. In other words, terrorism is not divorced from ideology. One has to look for the said ideological moorings. In this quest, in Bangladesh, it is strongly likely that there will be some accusatory finger-pointing towards some political parties. In the event of such a possibility turning into reality, the government of the day has to take tough actions without bothering about the political fallout. That would demand political sagacity of a very high order and may be a tall asking in our perilously polarized polity.
The enemy combatants are now known. So, there should not be any hesitation in venturing into sensitive and emotionally aligned places and institutions when reasonable suspicion and information so dictate. This is necessary to effectively shake off the suspected ambivalence of the enforcement personnel. The directives should be very clear and explicit.
The so-called religious extremism has not sprouted with its ugly fangs all on a sudden. So we should not be expecting instant solutions. However, deft political management ensuring pragmatic operational handling on an urgent basis can definitely lessen the harmful impact and energize the mainstream to counter the frontal attack on our democratic polity.
Events of the last few years indicate that an extraordinary situation may require extraordinary response with a view to meeting and checking unusual and unprecedented mishaps. We need to create and provide internal structures to meet the terrorist threat while recognizing that terrorism had increased in its very nature, demanding changes in strategies to confront it.
There is a challenge to our way of life. This must be realized by the mainstream political parties who are pledge-bound to uphold, protect and preserve our constitution. Therefore, the enemy must be caught by the forelock and dealt with under the law. A sovereign Republic born out of a historic struggle entailing epic human sacrifices demands that. We must not fail.
Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist for The Daily Star.
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